Stephan Livera Podcast

• Firefish: borrow against your bitcoin with Igor Neumann | SLP664

  Igor Neumann, co-founder of Firefish, discusses the innovative approach of their Bitcoin lending platform. Firefish operates as a decentralized marketplace connecting borrowers and lenders, allowing users to leverage their Bitcoin as collateral for loans. Igor explains the unique features of their protocol, the loan terms, user demographics, and the growing interest in Bitcoin collateralized loans. He also addresses the technical aspects of their platform, including liquidation processes and compliance with regulations, while highlighting the evolving landscape of Bitcoin lending in the EU.Takeaways🔸Firefish is a Czech-based startup focused on Bitcoin-backed loans.🔸The platform operates as a decentralized marketplace, not a centralized lender.🔸Borrowers drive the interest rates on loans, creating a unique market dynamic.🔸Bitcoiners prefer to use their assets as collateral rather than selling them.🔸The platform has seen increasing interest from SMEs and high net worth individuals.🔸Firefish's protocol uses multi-signature and oracles for security and efficiency.🔸Liquidation processes are designed to protect both borrowers and lenders.🔸The platform provides legal documentation to assist users with bank compliance.🔸Regulatory changes in the EU are positively impacting Bitcoin adoption.🔸The market for Bitcoin lending is maturing, with growing institutional interest. Timestamps:(00:00) - Intro(00:54) - What is Firefish?(03:39) - How is Firefish different from other lending protocols/platforms? (06:38) - What are the loan terms on Firefish? (10:33) - The user types and marketplace dynamics(13:40) - Bitcoin adoption among Czech SMEs; Market risks & future predictions(20:34) - Sponsors(21:50) - What is the underlying technology of Firefish?(27:25) - The role of pre-signed transactions(31:44) - Emergency recovery scenario on Firefish(35:48) - Dispute resolution in P2P lending(38:56) - Does Firefish use DLC?(40:46) - Navigating TradFi banking challenges in P2P lending(42:34) - Sponsors(45:40) - What are liquidation premiums on Firefish?(46:38) - The evolving landscape of Bitcoin regulations in EU(50:31) - Is there a growing interest in Bitcoin collateralized loans?(55:47) - Closing thoughtsLinks: https://firefish.io/https://x.com/firefish_io Sponsors:Bold BitcoinCoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Lana by GaloyStephan Livera links:Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

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• Leveraged Bitcoin Equities Over Bitcoin? with Reed Wommack | SLP663

  Reed Wommack shares his journey into Bitcoin, transitioning from a role at Swan Bitcoin to running Groundluxe, a company focused on grounding products. He discusses the evolving landscape of Bitcoin treasury companies, the risks and rewards associated with leveraging debt for investments, and the importance of a long-term perspective in navigating market cycles. Reed also emphasizes the potential for Bitcoin to dominate the equity market and the impact of capital gains tax on investment strategies. He encourages listeners to consider their risk profiles when adopting aggressive investment strategies.Takeaways🔸Reed's journey into Bitcoin began in 2019, leading to a deep interest in Austrian economics.🔸He transitioned from working at Swan Bitcoin to running Groundluxe, focusing on grounding products.🔸Reed discusses the strategy of investing in Bitcoin treasury companies rather than directly in Bitcoin.🔸He emphasizes the importance of understanding the risks associated with leverage in investments.🔸Reed believes that Bitcoin treasury companies will play a significant role in the future of finance.🔸He highlights the need for a long-term perspective when investing in Bitcoin-related companies.🔸The conversation touches on the impact of capital gains tax on investment strategies.🔸Reed shares insights on how to navigate market cycles and the importance of cash flow.🔸He discusses the potential for Bitcoin to become the dominant asset in the equity market.🔸Reed encourages listeners to consider their risk profiles when adopting aggressive investment strategies.Timestamps:(00:00) - Intro(00:40) - Who is Reed Wommack?(03:47) - Reed’s rationale behind choosing Bitcoin Treasury Companies(09:25) - Is Debt evil? Risk vs reward considerations in Bitcoin investments (13:37) - The mechanics of using ‘leverage on leverage’(16:20) - Sponsors(19:38) - Is opting for business loans to buy LBEs a good idea?(22:30) - How many LBEs does GroundLuxe own? (25:41) - Progression of a Bitcoin Treasury Company(28:54) - The role of debt in growing GroundLuxe? (32:34) - Loan durations, deleveraging and timing the cycles(38:01) - Will the profits be rolled back into Bitcoin?(40:07) - What is the criteria for selecting a ‘good’ Bitcoin treasury company?; Navigating potential bear cycles(43:28) - Sponsors(50:08) - Reed’s opinion on Preferred Shares - $STRK & $STRF(54:25) - How large can the ‘Bitcoin Treasury Companies’ industry get? (58:22) - Managing risks in Bitcoin investments (1:02:47) - Evaluating Bitcoin investment strategies for different investor profiles(1:08:25) - Closing thoughtsLinks: https://x.com/ReedWommack Sponsors:Bold BitcoinCoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Lana by GaloyStephan Livera links:Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

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  1:10:04
• How Bitcoin is Disrupting Traditional Financial Products with Zac Townsend | SLP662

  Stephen and Zac discuss the innovative intersection of Bitcoin and life insurance. They explore how Bitcoin can disrupt traditional life insurance markets, the recent funding successes of Meanwhile, and the unique benefits of Bitcoin-denominated policies. The conversation dives into the mechanics of these policies, the yield generation strategies employed by Meanwhile, and the tax advantages that make them appealing to customers. The episode concludes with insights into the customer experience and the future of Bitcoin in the insurance industry. Takeaways🔸Bitcoin life insurance represents a significant market disruption.🔸Recent funding rounds indicate growing institutional interest in Bitcoin.🔸Life insurance fundamentally aligns with Bitcoin's value proposition.🔸Bitcoin offers a decentralized store of value for long-term savings.🔸Traditional life insurance fails in hyperinflationary environments.🔸Bitcoin policies can provide better purchasing power over time.🔸The structure of Meanwhile's policies allows for tax-free compounding.🔸Borrowing against life insurance policies can be tax advantageous.🔸Beneficiaries receive full payouts regardless of contribution duration.🔸The future of life insurance may increasingly involve Bitcoin as a settlement layer. We're not calling up our policyholders telling them they should weightlift.🔸We run our entire business in Bitcoin.🔸Our audited financials are stated in Bitcoin.🔸We genuinely don't care about short-term volatility.🔸We believe Bitcoin will be more valuable in the long term.🔸Bermuda is a premier offshore place for regulated entities.🔸We're using AI to create personas for our business.🔸We're building for a world based on Bitcoin.🔸We want to have a thousand people where incumbents have a hundred thousand.Building trust takes time and consistency.Timestamps:(00:00) - Intro(01:16) - What is Bitcoin Life Insurance? Who is it for?(03:53) - How will Bitcoin be a disruptive force in insurance? (06:29) - Why is Bitcoin-denominated life insurance better? (10:55) - What is the policy structure & benefits?(14:21) - Where does the yield come from?(20:28) - Sponsors(22:49) - Customer experience, Policy mechanics & Tax advantages(29:54) - Running a Bitcoin-centric insurance company (36:09) - Sponsors(37:30) - What makes Bermuda a hub for Bitcoin innovation?(40:18) - How is Meanwhile leveraging AI for Bitcoin insurance? (42:49) - Expanding Meanwhile’s product offerings(49:17) - Building trust in a volatile market(53:34) - Is Meanwhile looking at stablecoin integration?(55:40) - Closing thoughtsLinks: https://x.com/meanwhilelife/status/1923006159377547598 https://meanwhile.bm/ https://x.com/ztownsend https://youtu.be/fCo7aNrq1-Q Sponsors:Bold BitcoinCoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Lana by GaloyStephan Livera links:Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

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  56:45
• Bitcoin Core OP RETURN and spam explained by a Core Dev with Antoine Poinsot | SLP661

  Stephan and Antoine discuss the complexities surrounding Bitcoin's OP_RETURN functionality and the ongoing debate about spam filtering on the Bitcoin network. They explore the implications of consensus rules, standardness, and the historical context of these discussions. Antoine provides insights into the motivations behind changes in Bitcoin Core's policies and the potential future of Bitcoin as both a currency and a data storage solution. The conversation highlights the urgency of addressing OP_RETURN issues while also considering the broader implications of spam filtering and its impact on Bitcoin's usability and miner centralization. The conversation also touches upon the growth of the UTXO set, the challenges of managing spam, and the philosophical differences between Bitcoin Core and alternative implementations. Takeaways🔸Bitcoin is defined by its consensus rules.🔸There are tighter rules for unconfirmed transactions in Bitcoin Core.🔸Standardness rules help prevent harmful transactions from being relayed.🔸The OP_RETURN output was standardized to mitigate negative externalities.🔸Historical context shows little demand for non-standard transactions.🔸The urgency to fix OP_RETURN issues is debated among developers.🔸Filters can work in certain contexts but not universally.🔸Concerns about miner centralization are significant for Bitcoin's future.🔸Speculating on motivations can detract from logical arguments.🔸The future of Bitcoin Core depends on adapting to user demand. Miners are incentivized to include all transactions, including spam.🔸Economic demand drives the use of alternative relay networks.🔸Filtering transactions may not effectively stop spam propagation.🔸The UTXO set growth is influenced by various factors, including spam.🔸Changing Bitcoin's consensus rules can have unintended consequences.🔸The cat and mouse game of filtering may lead to centralization risks.🔸Communication between developers and users is crucial for consensus.🔸The future of OP_RETURN is uncertain and requires community engagement.🔸Inscriptions and meta-protocols complicate the UTXO set issue.🔸Bitcoin's core philosophy resists changes that could limit its flexibility.Timestamps:(00:00) - Intro(01:42) - Understanding Consensus & Relay policies in Bitcoin(05:21) - Historical context of standardness Rules in Bitcoin Core(11:05) - Are Bitcoin Core proponents being paid to ‘break’ Bitcoin?  (13:42) - Differentiating b/w OP_RETURN PR & the general spam filtering debate(18:34) - Sponsors(22:46) - Is Bitcoin Money or a Data Storage protocol? How do most Core devs view it? (25:36) - Why not raise the OP_RETURN limit to ~150 bytes?(29:02) - How urgent is it to fix the issue?(31:56) - Why not let the node runners choose what they want to relay? (39:03) - Do filters work or do they not? (43:27) - Are concerns about UTXO bloat, miner centralisation, block propagation etc. being overplayed by Core devs?(46:40) - Sponsors(50:30) - Will miners who mine spam be penalised if node runners run knots?(1:00:28) - Is Bitcoin Core serious about stopping UTXO bloat?(1:07:00) - Why did Core not try to stop bare multisig spam?(1:08:58) - Should Bitcoin devs be playing a whackamole game with spammers?(1:18:24) - Summary & Future of OP_RETURN and spam concernsLinks: https://x.com/darosior https://x.com/darosior/status/1922682098160111982 https://delvingbitcoin.org/t/addressing-community-concerns-and-objections-regarding-my-recent-proposal-to-relax-bitcoin-cores-standardness-limits-on-op-return-outputs/1697 Sponsors:Bold BitcoinCoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Lana by GaloyStephan Livera links:Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

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  1:26:13
• Bulletproofing Bitcoin: Multi-Institution Custody with Michael Tanguma | SLP660

  In this conversation, Stephan Livera and Michael Tanguma explore the current landscape of Bitcoin, focusing on the challenges of self-custody, the role of custodians, and the emergence of multi-institution custody solutions. They discuss the importance of education in the Bitcoin space, the dynamics of Bitcoin treasury companies, and the unique opportunities for Bitcoin adoption in the Middle East. The conversation emphasizes the need for evolving security measures as Bitcoin adoption increases and the complexities of integrating Bitcoin with traditional finance.Takeaways🔸The onboarding process for Bitcoin is complex and requires education.🔸Self-custody is challenging for many individuals, especially those with significant wealth.🔸Institutional investors often prefer custodial solutions due to perceived security.🔸Multi-institution custody offers a balance between security and accessibility.🔸The Bitcoin ecosystem is evolving with new custody solutions to meet market demands.🔸Education about Bitcoin and custody is crucial for wider adoption.🔸The perception of Bitcoin's security is influenced by historical events like FTX.🔸Individuals often conflate self-custody with the need for trusted intermediaries.🔸The future of Bitcoin custody may involve advanced technologies like Miniscript.🔸Meeting clients where they are in their understanding of Bitcoin is essential. Nobody kidnaps billionaires for their equity portfolio.🔸Bitcoin changes the dynamic of theft and kidnappings.🔸Most people can't think about outperforming Bitcoin.🔸Liquidity killed all soundness in business unit economics.🔸Everything is good for Bitcoin, but not for individuals.🔸Bitcoin is a perfect fit for commodity-rich countries.🔸Bitcoin is the solution they've been looking for.🔸We need to be prepared for $250,000 Bitcoin.🔸Think about security aspects and privacy elements.Timestamps:(00:00) - Intro(01:03) - Where are we currently with Bitcoin adoption?; Growing demand for Bitcoin(03:50) - The evolution of custody solutions(09:05) - Why collaborative custody isn't enough(13:57) - How effective is Miniscript and Timelock for safeguarding Bitcoin?(16:32) - Risks & tradeoffs to consider while self-custodying Bitcoin(20:10) - Sponsors (22:38) - Multisig Vs Multi-Party Computation (MPC) Wallets(28:41) - How does Multi-Institution Custody work?; Security dynamics (35:20) - Is the user really in control of their Bitcoin?(38:09) - Sponsors (42:57) - What are the costs & threshold to custody with Onramp?(45:45) - What is ‘Early Riders’?; Bitcoin is the hurdle rate(57:15) - Are Bitcoin Treasury Companies good for Bitcoin?(1:01:37) - Can treasury companies sustain their mNAV above 1? (1:08:30) - The growing adoption of Bitcoin in the MENA region(1:15:13) - Closing thoughtsLinks: https://x.com/MTanguma https://x.com/onrampbitcoin https://x.com/early_riders Sponsors:Bold BitcoinCoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Lana by GaloyStephan Livera links:Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

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  1:17:12

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